Into the East
by Lucy Took
Summary: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader,from the POV of Samwise Gamgee! A cross-over with LOTR.
1. Narnia? Where in Middle Earth is that?

Sam was having a rather bad day. Frodo had left just the week before, and Rosie was out visiting and had taken the children with her.

He sat in the living room of Bag End looking at the painting of the ship over the fireplace. Frodo had given it to him shortly before he had left on the very ship depicted in the painting.

After staring at the painting for awhile, Sam noticed that it seemed to change. The sail turned purple, and the hull, green. Sam moved in closer, thinking he had gone mad, but instead of the ship returning to its former state, it had grown a dragon's head. As he leaned in, the picture grew to twice its size. Sam fell into the ice cold water with the thought that his bad day had just gotten much, much worse.

Sam floundered about in the freezing waves, wishing that he had accepted those swimming lessons that Merry had offered. He was sinking fast when strong hands grabbed his arms and lifted him up. Stunned, Sam did not resist, for though he had no idea what this person (or thing) was, he did know what would happen if he refused help.

He was pulled up a ladder and found that he was on a ship, facing a young man and three....what were they? Were they hobbits or young humans? Sam looked a bit closer and guessed that they looked too young to be full grown hobbits, so human children it was.

There was a girl and two boys. One of the boys and the girl seemed to know the man, and the other boy was going on about the British Consul. Needless to say, Sam was rather confused. Who were these people? What was he doing here? What in Middle Earth was a British Consul?

As he was thinking this over, the young man turned to him and said, "Good day, traveler. I am Caspian, tenth of that name, and king of Narnia. Who, pray tell, are you? What sort of creature are you? You're not a dwarf; that is for certain."

"Begging your honor, sir, I'm Samwise Gamgee, and bless you, I'm anything but a dwarf. I'm a hobbit. And I've never heard of Narnia. Do you know how far from the Shire it is, sir?"

"A hobbit!?" said Caspian, startled. "Queen Lucy, were there any hobbits during your reign? And do you know where this Shire is?"

"No Caspian," the girl called Lucy replied, wringing out her dress as she looked Sam over. "I've never seen a hobbit before, and there never was a place called 'the Shire' in Narnia."

"Well then, Master Hobbit, what are you doing in these parts?"

"Well, sir, I don't rightly know. I was just sitting in my living room looking at a picture when I just landed right in the water."

"By Jove!" the boy, whose name was Edmund, exclaimed. "We were looking at a picture too, before we arrived!"

"Well," Caspian said to Sam, "Aslan must have a reason for you to be here, so you might as well join us for our meeting later. In the meantime, why don't you tell your tale to Queen Lucy here, and perhaps she will tell you hers."


	2. Aboard the Dawn Treader

After learning a little bit of Narnian history from Lucy and telling his own tale, Sam was shown to the cabin that he would be sharing with Caspian, Edmund, and Eustace. The cabin suited Sam just fine, but the water was starting to make him feel a bit sick.

As for his cabin mates, he felt as if he could be as comfortable with Caspian and Edmund as he had been as with Strider back at home. They both had that royal air about them that reminded him of the old days with the Fellowship. Just thinking of those days gave Sam a pain of sadness. He did miss Strider, Legolas, Gimli, and most of all Mr. Frodo.

"But there's no use thinking of that now, Samwise Gamgee. You've got you own adventure to worry about now," he said to himself. "At this rate, I'll be labeled as being less respectable than a Took. I wonder what the Old Gaffer would think if he could see me now?"

But then his thoughts changed to less happy ones, thoughts of his other room mate. Unlike Caspian and Edmund, Eustace did not have the air of royalty. It was more of the air of that Gollum. Not that Sam thought that Eustace was likely to murder anyone, but he did seem to be a bother that had some sort of selfish plan going on. Sam made up his mind then and there to keep his eye on that one. Just then Lucy—sweet Lucy—came into the room, calling him to the meeting that was to take place.

Sam went with Lucy, now noticing the rocking of the ship even more. He didn't like it one bit. They passed Eustace on the way to Drinian's cabin. He too was looking green, and said something about going to bed and waking up from his nightmare.

To this Sam took no notice. He was too busy looking around at the ship and feeling sick himself. He said nothing about feeling sick, for he wanted to know where they were going, and as Lucy know no more about this matter than he did, he was going to have to go to this meeting. Besides, he didn't want to spend any more time in the cabin with Eustace than was necessary.

Finally, they reached the cabin in which the council was to take place. Caspian greeted them and introduced them to the ship's captain, Lord Drinian. Sam was used to meeting humans from his time in Gondor, and returned Drinian's greetings cheerfully.

After everyone had sat down, another member of the quest came in, this one of a race that Sam was not used to meeting: a mouse. And what a mouse it was! It was only about a foot or so shorter than Sam, and then the most amazing thing of all happened. The mouse spoke!

"You called, your Highness?"

To this Caspian replied, "Why yes, Reepicheep. I figured that you had as much to do with our voyage as anyone else on board."

To this Sam was amazed. Yes, Lucy had said something about talking animals, and Reepicheep had been briefly mentioned—but his size! And he really did talk! No one in the Shire would believe this!

After Caspian had caught up with Lucy and Edmund about events in Narnia since they had left, Edmund asked the question that Sam had been longing for.

"Where are we headed for?"

"Well, that's rather a long story. Do you remember the Lords that my Uncle Miraz got rid of by sending them to explore the Unknown Eastern Seas?"

To this Lucy replied yes, and whispered to Sam that she would explain later.

Caspian continued.

"Well, on my coronation day, with Aslan's approval, I swore an oath that if once I established peace in Narnia, I would sail east myself for a year and a day to find my father's friends or to learn of their deaths and avenge them if I could."

He went on to list their names.

"That is my main intention. But Reepicheep, here, has an even higher hope."

"As high as my spirit," the mouse replied, "though perhaps as small as my stature."

At this, he went on to explain about his wishes to reach the End of the World. Sam drank it all in: going to the End of the World by way of the sea. What would happen to him? What was over the sea in this world? Would he find the place of the elves where Mr. Frodo went? Well, if that was the case, he was going to find his master, or at least die trying.

Finally everyone turned to Sam. "So, Master Hobbit, will you be joining us on our quest, or would you like to be let off at the Lone Islands?"

"Well," Sam replied, "if I wouldn't be a bother, I would very much like to go with you, sir. If only this boat would stop moving so much."

At this Lucy took pity on him, and asked Caspian if her cordial happened to be on board. The bottle was produced and Lucy offered Sam a drop. At first, Sam refused, saying that he didn't need it; but then the ship seemed to rock some more, and Lucy convinced him that it would only take a drop. So he took a drop and was soon very glad that he did.


	3. A Conversation with Lucy

"....So his uncle really sent his father's supporters across the sea?"

Sam was getting Lucy's explanation.

"Yes. He was terrible," Lucy replied. "But remember what I told you. Caspian is king now. His uncle is dead. Besides, from what you told me, where you come from people are willing to go to war over a ring!"

"Aye, but beggin' your pardon, it wasn't just any ring, M'lady. It betrayed its masters to do its will."

"But Aslan wouldn't let that happen. He wouldn't let a dictator just take over all free lands with a ring."  
Before Sam could reply, Edmund came around the corner.

"But Lucy, he did let the White Witch rule Narnia," Edmund began. "He did get rid of her at last. Maybe He meant to rid Sam's world of evil after letting it rule for a while. He told you Himself that things never happen the same way twice. Perhaps Frodo and Sam were His way of ridding Middle Earth of that evil."

Again, Sam was cut off from speaking his reply when a shrill voice let out. Lucy, Edmund, and Sam raced to the source of the noise and found Reepicheep swinging his sword at Eustace and demanding an apology. Sam's deep thoughts of Rings and Lions turned to those of living with Eustace.


	4. I now present The Lone Islands!

**A/N-I got a beta! Thank You very much _King Caspian the Seafarer_! He's betad the whole story,so you might want to take a peak at the other chapters.**

Sam was standing at the back of the ship looking over the water. It had been a week since he had joined the Dawn Treader, and he was getting quite used to life on the ship. He had made friends with Caspian, Edmund, and most of all, with Lucy. Whenever he had a question about this strange new land, all he had to do was go ask the young queen, and she would answer it so that he could understand it perfectly.

Just then he heard a sailor yelling something. He listened closely, and heard what he was saying—land!

Sam ran to the front of the ship as fast as his short legs could carry him. He saw Lucy, Caspian, Edmund, and Eustace talking with the Captain. Lucy caught sight of Sam and called him over.

"Oh, I'm so glad that you got here!" she cried "We were just about to send for you.

"Caspian, Edmund, Eustace, Reepicheep and myself are going to take a stroll on the first island. Would you care to join us, or would you rather stay with the ship?"

To this Sam answered that, yes, he would love to stretch his legs and see a bit of grass, if he could.

So it was decided that the party would go out in the landing boat and send it back. They would be met at the end of the island.

Sam was quite excited as he entered the smaller boat. He would get to see grass, trees, and flowers again! The one thing he hated on the boat—more than being stuck in the same cabin as Eustace—was the lack of green things and dirt.

As soon as the boat touched the shore, Sam would have been the first to get out, but being so short he had to wait for Caspian to lift him out. The land around him seemed to move, but Reepicheep said that the feeling would go away soon. Sam didn't care. He was on land!

Walking on land was a joy to Sam. He didn't know how much he loved it until he had been on the water. As the group walked, Sam was taking it all in. The land looked a lot like the Shire—the very Shire that Sam was missing more and more. The rich greens of the grass and trees and the vivid colors of the flowers made Sam both thankful to be on land and homesick for the Shire that he had left behind.

Thoughts of the Shire soon turned to thoughts of his Rosie. Oh, how he missed her! And Elanor and little Frodo too! What would they do with him gone? How would they feel, going out one day, and he being gone when they got back? Would they be worried? Sam thought, _I hope they don't go to the Elvish city looking for me._

As Sam was thinking this, Caspian called to his attention seven men standing by a tree. He then gave direction to all not to tell that he was king of Narnia. After some discussion about what to do, Caspian led them over to the men. Sam was a bit wary about trusting the strangers, and he was glad that Caspian wasn't being too trusting either. He was nervous when he sat down to eat and drink with them. His fears were soon justified, as all of the men sprang up and one grabbed Sam and tied him up.

He struggled to get free, but it was of no use. The man was too big for him. He heard a man call out not to hurt Reepicheep, when his captor called over to the slaver named Pug,

"Look at this one, Pug. His ears, see? They're pointed, and his feet, they're so big and furry. The best selling point is his height. Why, he's only half as tall as me!"

Pug came over and looked at him. A cruel smile came over his face.

"Oh, yes. Hang onto that one. He'll fetch a good price."

-]------

Being dragged down into the hull of the dark trade ship was no fun at all for Sam. To make matters worse, he was tied up next to Eustace! So there he was sitting listening to Eustace gripe and complain. After only a little while, Sam got so sick of it that he said to the boy, "You remind me of someone."

"Who?" replied Eustace, stopping his annoying complaining to ask.

"His name was Gollum."

"That's a perfectly rotten name."

"He was a perfectly rotten creature."

"I'm not rotten!"

"Oh, yes you are. I'd take you over Gollum, but there are a lot of other nasties that I'd rather endure."

At this, Eustace started sulking. However this he soon tired of, and decided to ask Sam some more questions.

"So, what was this creature?"

"Well, I don't rightly know. You see, he said that he was once rather like a hobbit, but he went bad."

"What did he look like?"

Sam then gave a detailed description of the creature. This kept Eustace from asking any more questions of Sam. Instead, he turned back to his complaining.

-I-------------- -I--------------- -I-------------- -I--------------

Morning came all to soon, and yet later than hoped for in that long dark night. Now it was market day. Sam knew little of slavery, but he had gathered that they were to be sold at the market. So he was only partly happy at being out of the hull of the slave ship, and less so when he was made to march to the market.

Sam sighed as he walked up to the platform. It had been miserable to see his friends sold and just as terrible to be standing on that platform himself. Listening as bids were placed on him, the thoughts came quickly, one after another.

_Will this new master be half as good as Mr. Frodo? What about Rosie and the children? Will I ever get back to them? Are they worrying about me now? _As he was thinking and waiting, a call broke out.

"Make way for the King of Narnia!"

_Caspian, _Sam thought_. Was he able to get away?_

Sam listened as Caspian came up and made his speech about the end of slavery, and cheered as loudly as he could when Lucy, Edmund, and Reepicheep were brought out.

-]----

Sam enjoyed the rest of his stay at the Lone Islands. The feelings of homesickness were still there, but faded slowly as he went on picnics with Lucy and Edmund, rested in the quite parts of the country that reminded him of home, and helped out in the governor's garden and kitchen. He felt that he could be happy and content there, if only he had his family with him.

-]-----

The two weeks in the Lone Islands ended all too soon for Sam. All of the homesickness returned to him when Caspian announced that they would be leaving. Caspian offered to leave Sam in the Lone Islands, and said that Lord Burn would see to him. The offer was tempting, but Sam had become close to many on the Dawn Treader, mostly Lucy, for she reminded him of a merry hobbit lass, and Edmund, who had the air of Strider—of royalty.

As Sam boarded the boat, he thought of his home in the Shire, and then turned his thoughts of the coming adventure, some that he would probably rather not have.


	5. Storm at Sea!

**A/N- Here's the next chapter! I had it wrote up some time ago,but because of some transfer problems(DocX system),I've just now got it back from my beta (Thanks!),and have the next one wrote up,and it should be up fairly soon. **

Sam enjoyed the first few days back on the _Dawn Treader—_as soon as he got used to the rocking again. He loved the long talks with kind members of the crew, not to mention the conversations with Lucy, Edmund, Caspian and Reepicheep. He was starting to feel like old Mr. Bilbo must have felt, with everyone coming to him for stories. At first he was a bit bashful, but he had made friends with most of the crew during the stop over at the Lone Islands, and now enjoyed trading yarns with them.

But the few good days on board the ship were soon over, for a storm struck the sea. It came suddenly, and lasted over a dozen days; day after day, night after night of being tossed about. Sam felt helpless, for though the others had to row, he was too short to be of much use, and all he could do to help was to run small errands with Lucy and Reepicheep. And in those hours of the storm, there was no time to talk with Lucy, or to listen to a tale from Reepicheep. It was a miserable two weeks, indeed.

Finally the storm ended, only to leave the Narnians with a newly discovered leak in the water barrels. Rations were short, and though it was not pleasant to Sam, he had gone with less water at one time, and now managed quite well on the low water rations. What he had a harder time putting up with was Eustace's complaining.

Sam, like most everyone else on board, had generally ignored Eustace when he was in a foul mood (which was most of the time), but now it was inescapable. Sam almost gave up some of his water ration with Lucy, but he trusted Edmund's better judgment when he said not to. Avoiding Eustace soon became an art on board, one that Sam was exceptionally good at.

He was not at all happy when he was awakened by Eustace and Reepicheep yelling. He was tired and had made his way up with the others to see what had happened. As he watched the whole ordeal, he thought for a moment that he would rather be with Gollum, but this thought disappeared almost sooner than it came. No matter how bad Eustace was, he would never be _that _bad.

Sam's admiration of Caspian and Edmund however, had grown during this time. When he had first boarded, he thought Edmund more kingly than Caspian; something in the way he held himself; a look in the eye. But this storm had shown that they were both equal as kings, each kingly in their own way. Caspian gave the orders kindly, and had a love for his people. He knew the men and their needs. Edmund, though younger, was a great source of wisdom, and was asked for his opinion on nearly every decision.

Just as everyone's thirst was growing great and patience was running thin, the glad cry of "Land!" came, and Sam looked forward to planting his feet once more on solid land.


	6. That Slinker GollI Mean Eustace!

**A/N- And here's the next chapter! Thank you to everyone who reviewed,and extra thanks to Ty,who gave one of the most encouraging reviews(via PM),before finishing Return of the King,and to my wonderful beta,King Caspian the Seafarer. And thank you for the CC Yuna.**

The grass felt nice and cool on Sam's bare feet. After a short walk on the refreshing grass, he came across a spring of fresh water! Bathing in the shallow water was lovely, and after a drink, Caspian called for a rest. Lucy took the time to show Sam the basics of swimming. It took the better part of the rest time, but at the end of the short lesson, he had learned how to stay afloat on his back, a valuable thing when at sea.

When the rest was over, Sam took the duty of scavenging food for the ship, along with Lucy, Reepicheep, and some of the crew.

Sam proved his worth here, for while some of the Narnian plants were different than the ones in Middle Earth, he still could identify many; he knew which were poisonous, which were edible, and how some could be poisonous or not depending on how they were cooked.

He had great cause for happiness when he found some mushrooms, quite like the kind one would find in the Shire, and gathered as many as he could carry himself, giving orders for others to find and bring along the rest.

Back at the camp, he started to wash his findings and help the ship's cook with supper. Sam had become good friends with James, the cook, and was allowed in the galley. He was also permitted access to the ship's food stores, a great privilege for anyone; it would have been an even greater privilege if James had known of hobbit's love for food. But both the hired cook and the cook-from-Middle-Earth respected each other.

After supper was made, chaos struck like lightning. Eustace was discovered missing.

Search parties were sent out, but Sam stayed back at camp. At first he found it hard to think anything nice about Eustace; after all, he had just ruined a perfectly wonderful day. And all he ever did was complain and mope about the ship and whine about wanting to go home. Certainly Sam had wanted to go home himself, but as he knew he couldn't, he took the adventure that was given him and enjoyed himself to the utmost. Eustace just made everyone's life miserable.

But as the night wore on and on with no sign of Eustace, Sam began thinking differently. Yes, he was still annoyed that Eustace had gone missing, but he started to feel--_almost_ feel--_pity_ for him. The boy wasn't all that bad; he was just annoying at times. He certainly never had murder on his mind. Really, Eustace wasn't nearly as bad as Gollum, and Sam regretted ever comparing the two.

The night passed slowly. Lucy was too worried to talk, and Sam tried to comfort her, but no end. The search parties came back very late, unhappy in their failed efforts. Search was postponed until dawn. There was nothing left to do but sleep and see what the morning brought them.

**A/N- I take anonymous reviews(I know some authors don't,but I was an anon. reviewer for quite some time),so please,if you have something to say,say it! **


	7. Not quite like Mr Bilbo's stories

**A/N- It's been beta'd! Thanks Caspian,punctuation was never my high point...  
**

**Disclaimer- Lewis owns Narnia,and a ton of the dialogue I borrowed for this chapter(He's the master,not me!) And Tolkien owns Sam,Bilbo and any other Middle Earth references. I own...well nothing. (Mr. Tolkien,could I just have Pippin? Please? I'd be nice to him,and he'd be my friend,just a friend,not a boyfriend,he can still marry Diamond. Please,Mr. Tolkien,Please?)  
**

Just before dawn, Sam heard a sound. He got up and found the whole ship's company assembled not far from where he was lying. Edmund came over and explained to him that there was a dragon on the shore!

The only dragon Sam had heard of was Smaug, and he had never wanted to meet up with him! Sam was terribly afraid, but after further consideration, he realized that he had seen worse things than dragons, gathered his courage, and went over to the group on the beach.

"What has the dragon said?" he asked Lucy when he found her in the group.

"Nothing," Lucy replied. "There may be many kinds of talking animals in Narnia, but dragons aren't among them. I wish they could speak, for then we could ask his business."

"I'm afraid, Miss Lucy, that talking dragons are just as terrible as the non-talking ones."

"You mean to say there are talking dragons where you come from?"

Yes, miss, there are. There's a grand story about one of them. I'll have to tell it to you once this dragon is taken care of. Have you heard any of the plans?"

"No. Caspian was talking about it with some of his men. Look, he's coming now!"

"Hello Lucy. Hello Sam," Caspian said as he approached them. His voice was low. "We do have a plan of sorts. Not much of one, but it will have to do."

Here he raised his voice so all could hear. "We are to meet it in battle as soon as light comes. I will lead with King Edmund and Lord Drinian at my side. We should have enough light in a couple of hours. In an hour's time we shall eat. All must be done in silence."

"Perhaps it will leave," said Lucy.

Sam hoped at first it would, but when Edmund said, "It will be worse if it does. If there's a wasp in the room, I'd like to know were it is," Sam couldn't help but agree. He passed the next hour helping James with the meal.

The two hours time until dawn seemed to last forever. Sam had been the only one able to eat; for though he was just as scared and nervous as everyone else, he was still a hobbit. It took more than a dragon to keep a hobbit from eating when food was to be had.

He thought of speaking in hushed tones with Lucy about Mr. Bilbo's dragon, but held his tongue. King Caspian had said to keep quiet. He tried to keep his thoughts on the food, but it was getting harder and harder as the sky began to grow brighter. At last, dawn came.

Sam took his place near the middle of the mass, close to Lucy. He couldn't see anything, for he was too short!

After a moment of trying desperately to see, he turned to Lucy. Maybe she could see, and if she couldn't, Reepicheep could, for he was positioned on Lucy's shoulder.

Sam said, "Miss, please. What's happening? I can't see a thing."

To this she replayed, "It's nodding its head. Wait," and here she ran out from the center of the group. "Look! It's crying"

To this Drinian replied that the beast was likely trying to throw them off their guard. Sam agreed; Mr. Bilbo's stories had made it very clear that it wasn't wise to trust a dragon.

But then he heard Edmund say that the dragon was shaking its head no. Lucy suggesting that he understood them brought Reepicheep down from Lucy's shoulder, and at last Sam picked up his courage to move to where he could see. Reep was actually talking to the dragon!

"Dragon, can you understand speech?" And the dragon nodded. Sam was amazed!

Reepicheep continued, "Can you speak?"

This time the dragon shook its head no. Again the mouse spoke.

"Then it is idle to ask your business. But if you will swear friendship with us, raise your left foreleg above your head."

The dragon did so, showing that its foreleg was swollen, the circulation cut off by a golden bracelet.

Sam's feet were frozen to the ground. He was too shocked for a split second to react. Lucy ran forward and administered some of her cordial to the dragon's foot. He was relived when the beast did not harm Lucy, and was about to go toward her and the dragon when Caspian caught sight of the bracelet.

After he had run forward and gotten a better look at it, Caspian cried out, "It's the Lord Octesian's arm-ring!"

When Sam heard this, he started to think.

_Who was Octesian? Oh, that's right. He was one of those Lords they were looking for. What did the dragon do to him?_

But then he heard Lucy speak, though some said later it was Edmund.

"Dragon? Are you Eustace?"

And the dragon shock his head 'yes'.


	8. Of Mice and Dragons

**A/N- I'm back! I relise it's been awhile,my muse won't listen,and I've got two other stories that want to come out swirling up in my head. So I put on some Celtic Woman and made myself write,and was please with what came out. Hope you like it!**

Eustace? A dragon? Sam knew that this land was very different than his home,but he had never heard of a man turning into something else. There was that bear from Bilbo's stories,but Sam never thought he was really _human_,but Sam knew that Eustace had been very human the day before.

Sam felt even more guilty about all of the bad things he had said to to and about Eustace. Sure,they might have been true,but he still shouldn't have said them.

Sam's practical side kicked in,what were they going to do about having a dragon among the crew? How were they going to feed him? What did dragons even eat? Sam had a feeling that he didn't want to know the answer to that last question.

Half of the crew soon were asking the same questions that Sam was,and the other half was trying to comfort Eustace. Sam decided to pick up his courage and go over to Eustace. There he found Lucy comforting the boy turned dragon. Sam just watched,though he could see that there were tears in Eustace's eyes,real tears,Sam wasn't ready to go up to him,not yet. He wanted to wait until he could talk to him alone.

The time didn't come for awhile,so much was going on,between Eustace trying to write out his story(Despite being a lettered hobbit,Sam didn't catch much of it before it washed away.),and helping James(No mushrooms today,but Eustace was able to find some meat,a welcome change),and other tasks,it was late at night before Sam was able to talk to Eustace,and once he could,he had to think about what he had wanted to say,but it all came out once he approached the dragon.

"Hello...Eustace. I wanted to ask if you would forgive me."

The dragon looked confused,as if to ask what for.

"Well,I've been awfully unfair to you,I've called you names given to much worse,and while you've been a bother,I was too harsh on you. I'm sorry. Could you forgive me?"

The dragon appeared to grow more surprise,but as he nodded,Sam knew that this was a different person than the one that wouldn't willingly forgive anyone a few days ago. Sam wondered what had done it,but it was a question that he knew Eustace couldn't answer.

Very soon after,Reepicheep showed up. Sam was very glad to see the mouse,not only had he formed a friendship of sorts with the mouse(Being the smallest members of a crew is not always easy),but now that he had what was on his mind taken care of with Eustace,a new addition to the party was just what he needed.

Reep said hello to both hobbit and dragon,and then asked,"Did I ever tell you how we became talking mice?"

Eustace shock his head,and Sam said that he hadn't.. As Reepicheep told the tail,Sam was amazed. Lucy had told of Aslan's sacrifice before,but the way Reep put it,Sam couldn't believe that anyone could die for a traitor,let alone the creator of the earth!

Sam knew that Middle Earth had a creator,but he knew little of Him. It was a thing for the Elves to know,and even they knew little,hobbits,even educated ones knew next to nothing.

Sam was determined to find out more about this Aslan.


	9. Hobbit in Flight

**A/N-Yes! I'm alive! And I forced myself to finish the chapter that's been sitting on my hard drive for almost two months. Thank You Caspian for being such an awesome beta!!!  
**

The days following Eustace's change were days filled with work, stories, and ample worry. Eustace did a wonderful job at providing supplies, so much work was done to repair the ship. Sam continued to help the cook, and was delighted at the many edible plants they discovered on the island, as well as with the meat that the dragon often brought. For the first time in what seemed like forever (though it had only been a few weeks), everyone ate meals worthy of being served in the Shire.

At nights, Eustace provided a warm, comfortable place to sleep. Often great tales were swapped around the dragon's warm side. Lucy and Edmund told of things that had happened during the Golden Age of Narnia—some exciting; some moving; some funny; and most a combination of the three.

Caspian told about how the Telmarines and Narnians were adjusting to each other. Most of these tales were told in a humorous way, but there were a few that showed how much hate that had existed for so long had to be stamped out. Sam told of his journey with Mr. Frodo, along with some of the stories that he had picked up from Mr. Bilbo. It was around the "dragon hot water bottle" that Sam told for the first time in Narnia the whole tale of the venture from the Shire to Mordor. At many parts of the account, very few dry eyes were to be found from Lucy, to Eustace (Sam found out how big even the smallest of dragon tears were), to even the noble Caspian. Sam himself found it hard to tell some parts without having to stop and wipe his eyes at the memory.

When Eustace wasn't around, most of the talk was of the future, not of the past. No one knew what to do with their dragon. Sam tried not to think of it, for he knew that they couldn't stay on the island forever, but he didn't know how they would go on with a dragon. Of course no one would even think of leaving him behind. Sam decided early on to let the others decide what the best course of action would be. He knew little of how far a dragon could fly or how long they could go without eating, and he really didn't want to have to find out.

One set of adventures that Sam did not care to join was the flights that several select crew members enjoyed on the back of Eustace. After the dragon landed, the passengers told grand tales of what they had seen, but Sam was not easily persuaded to see them himself. He had flown once before in his life (though he did not remember it), and declared that once was more than enough for any hobbit. However, after one flight that had included Lucy and Reepicheep, Sam, after a very long talk in which the mouse got very excited and Lucy sighed a lot, was persuaded to go with on a short, very short, flight.

He nervously climbed on the scaly back the next day, along with Edmund and the mouse, clinging very tightly to Edmund. At the take off, Sam was scared out of his wits. He couldn't believe he had let Lucy talk him into this! He griped the scaly back as hard as he could, and closed his eyes as he felt the wind pick up. At last, when he got enough courage to open his eyes some, he saw that they were still very close to the ground and relaxed a bit, still holding on as hard as he could. Just as he was warming up to the thought of not being on solid ground (as in not wanting to scream anymore), the Dragon suddenly lifted up much higher, and flew out over the water. Sam let out a yell and held on even more tightly to the dragon's back, finding that he hadn't been holding on _quite_ as hard as he could. But after a few moments of sheer terror, he heard Edmund speak.

"Isn't this fun!"

Sam was about ready to reply that, no, this was most certainly _not_ fun, when he realized just how beautiful the scene below him was. He could see the island that they had left from a whole new viewpoint, and as Eustace came back to land, he noticed that the island looked very much like a picture on a map, only more real.

Soon the dragon landed, and Sam quickly leapt off. Lucy asked Sam how he had liked the ride, and he replied, most honestly and hobbit-like, "I'm not sure I could say I _liked_ it, but I'll never forget it, Miss Lucy, never. I'm glad I went, though I never want to go again."


End file.
